In another thread concerning a new tractor owner seeking advice on which tractors would make a good choice for him, LS Tractors was brought up as an Option.
I posted in that thread some company history and pointed out, Not personally knowing anything about the actual tractors, that the dealer networks are not nearly as established or plentiful as more main stream companies. I cautioned against unknown service factors and lack of any Re-Sale information. But today, I took the time to go and seek out the only two dealers I could fine within an hours drive.
Via the website, LS Tractors states that there are 10 dealers in NY. I noted in the other thread that their website left MUCH to be desired. One of those things lacking is the Dealer Locator. If you supply your zip code, the locator spits out only the closet dealer to that zip code. So finding the other 10 dealers in NY is literally a game of "Battleship". It appears from what I can gather, that most of the dealers are located between buffalo and central NY. There is nothing north of Pulaski.
The dealer in Pulaski is an absolute joke. The "Shop" is a wood shed, and the surrounding property is a tractor junkyard. He has 2 LS tractors on his "Lot". Both are G series, or what LS calls their "Value Compacts". Being the Bare Bones line of tractors, there was not a heck of a lot to look at. Even so, the "Dealer" seemed to know less about them then even the bare bones info on the LS Website. There was no "Service" shop at this "Dealer", so how he would support the warrantee is completely unknown.
The Dealer out in Weedsport was Somewhat better. This guy is a wholesaler of industrial equipment. That is his main deal. But apparently he has his hands in a bit of everything. Want a used car or truck? He has about ten on the lot to choose from. Want to rent a small track hoe, hes got some. Want a golf cart, he's got a few of those too. Want a Chinese ATV,,, He has like 60 on the lot to choose from. But I was interested in the Tractors. He had a fairly decent representation, but did not have what I was looking for, being the J2030H. He didn't have any P series either for the record. I asked the following questions. When did you become a dealer? Answer, 3 years ago. I then asked, why did you pick up LS? Answer, local farmers were asking me to sell some farm equipment. So we picked up the LS line. Ok, fair enough. Do you have a Service Department? Yes we can work on, repair and get parts, but we don't keep parts in stock. And we don't load the tires.
On to what I went looking for. The J, which he didn't have, and claims that they do not stock and will only order. He was not able to give me any hard pricing, only estimates. I asked what a TLB set up with MMM would "Roughly" go for. To this question, he was not certain, so he called his boss, WHO,, told him the J series could not take a Backhoe. I pointed out to him in the one page brochure that he handed me, that it lists a backhoe model for the J. This confused him, and he promised to look into that and call me back with firm prices and information.
I have to admit, that the random Prices he was tossing around were appealing. He guessed for the TLB set up with MMM, around 21-22k. Now that is about the same price as the GC1710 I am fixing to buy in April. On price alone, I would be interested in getting a little better acquainted with the J. But here was the final kick in the Nads. Aside for not knowing anything about the tractor, in order to look at one, I have to actually BUY one. I can't find any information online deeper then the bare basic specs. No clue if the thing has a diff Loc. I assume it does have one, but still, its a well kept secret. No idea what the cockpit layout is. No Idea if it has a suspension seat or not. No idea if the hoe has it's own seat or not. No videos on line for it. Nothing. No God Dang information of any kind.
I have to admit, that the prices tossed out are interesting. The Size seems like it would be appealing. But exactly what I feared turned out to be the case. The dealers are not really Dealers. The one guy I would consider doing business with, LS Tractors is a sideline distraction from his real business. He dabbles in selling them because,,,, well because he can. Very little in the way of knowledge about them. And although he does have a service department, it's set up for the purpose of working on heavy equipment. They will work on the LS Tractors if they need to. But it's not their real gig. All that is reason enough to make me walk away. Yet I am still feeling a bit of draw. The tractors he did have on the lot are RUGGED. I don't doubt the quality of the tractors. And the J seems like it might have real potential. But I can't freaking get any more information on it. And Unless someone has one at the upcoming tractor show at the fair grounds, I would not even be able to look at one prior to paying for it. And buying a tractor sight unseen is just NOT going to happen. So even though a bit of enthusiasm was stoked within me for the J, it is likely that all of the negatives in the support has sealed the deal. Just too many unknowns, and the dealer does not exactly instill confidence.
Does anyone own one of these J series? I can't find a review or a video or anything in the way of testimonials.
I posted in that thread some company history and pointed out, Not personally knowing anything about the actual tractors, that the dealer networks are not nearly as established or plentiful as more main stream companies. I cautioned against unknown service factors and lack of any Re-Sale information. But today, I took the time to go and seek out the only two dealers I could fine within an hours drive.
Via the website, LS Tractors states that there are 10 dealers in NY. I noted in the other thread that their website left MUCH to be desired. One of those things lacking is the Dealer Locator. If you supply your zip code, the locator spits out only the closet dealer to that zip code. So finding the other 10 dealers in NY is literally a game of "Battleship". It appears from what I can gather, that most of the dealers are located between buffalo and central NY. There is nothing north of Pulaski.
The dealer in Pulaski is an absolute joke. The "Shop" is a wood shed, and the surrounding property is a tractor junkyard. He has 2 LS tractors on his "Lot". Both are G series, or what LS calls their "Value Compacts". Being the Bare Bones line of tractors, there was not a heck of a lot to look at. Even so, the "Dealer" seemed to know less about them then even the bare bones info on the LS Website. There was no "Service" shop at this "Dealer", so how he would support the warrantee is completely unknown.
The Dealer out in Weedsport was Somewhat better. This guy is a wholesaler of industrial equipment. That is his main deal. But apparently he has his hands in a bit of everything. Want a used car or truck? He has about ten on the lot to choose from. Want to rent a small track hoe, hes got some. Want a golf cart, he's got a few of those too. Want a Chinese ATV,,, He has like 60 on the lot to choose from. But I was interested in the Tractors. He had a fairly decent representation, but did not have what I was looking for, being the J2030H. He didn't have any P series either for the record. I asked the following questions. When did you become a dealer? Answer, 3 years ago. I then asked, why did you pick up LS? Answer, local farmers were asking me to sell some farm equipment. So we picked up the LS line. Ok, fair enough. Do you have a Service Department? Yes we can work on, repair and get parts, but we don't keep parts in stock. And we don't load the tires.
On to what I went looking for. The J, which he didn't have, and claims that they do not stock and will only order. He was not able to give me any hard pricing, only estimates. I asked what a TLB set up with MMM would "Roughly" go for. To this question, he was not certain, so he called his boss, WHO,, told him the J series could not take a Backhoe. I pointed out to him in the one page brochure that he handed me, that it lists a backhoe model for the J. This confused him, and he promised to look into that and call me back with firm prices and information.
I have to admit, that the random Prices he was tossing around were appealing. He guessed for the TLB set up with MMM, around 21-22k. Now that is about the same price as the GC1710 I am fixing to buy in April. On price alone, I would be interested in getting a little better acquainted with the J. But here was the final kick in the Nads. Aside for not knowing anything about the tractor, in order to look at one, I have to actually BUY one. I can't find any information online deeper then the bare basic specs. No clue if the thing has a diff Loc. I assume it does have one, but still, its a well kept secret. No idea what the cockpit layout is. No Idea if it has a suspension seat or not. No idea if the hoe has it's own seat or not. No videos on line for it. Nothing. No God Dang information of any kind.
I have to admit, that the prices tossed out are interesting. The Size seems like it would be appealing. But exactly what I feared turned out to be the case. The dealers are not really Dealers. The one guy I would consider doing business with, LS Tractors is a sideline distraction from his real business. He dabbles in selling them because,,,, well because he can. Very little in the way of knowledge about them. And although he does have a service department, it's set up for the purpose of working on heavy equipment. They will work on the LS Tractors if they need to. But it's not their real gig. All that is reason enough to make me walk away. Yet I am still feeling a bit of draw. The tractors he did have on the lot are RUGGED. I don't doubt the quality of the tractors. And the J seems like it might have real potential. But I can't freaking get any more information on it. And Unless someone has one at the upcoming tractor show at the fair grounds, I would not even be able to look at one prior to paying for it. And buying a tractor sight unseen is just NOT going to happen. So even though a bit of enthusiasm was stoked within me for the J, it is likely that all of the negatives in the support has sealed the deal. Just too many unknowns, and the dealer does not exactly instill confidence.
Does anyone own one of these J series? I can't find a review or a video or anything in the way of testimonials.
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